Adjustable socket



UnitedStates Patent O 3,541,901 ADJUSTABLE SOCKET Mark M. Murata, Kaneohe, Hawaii (Box 275, FPO, Seattle, Wash. 98766) Filed Aug. 30, 1968, Ser. No. 756,628 Int. Cl. B25b 13/14, 13/16 U.S. Cl. 81-165 5 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE An adjustable socket for use with a socket wrench. The socket has a housing with a pair of opposing jaws projecting therefrom, the jaws having parallel rack elements slidably mounted on parallel trackways in the housing. The rack elements are gearingly engaged by parallel knurled worm members journaled in the housing and projecting laterally from its opposite sides so as to be manually rotatable. The worm members are gearingly coupled together for simultaneous operation.

This invention relates to adjustable sockets for use with socket wrenches, and more particularly to an adjustable socket adapted to be employed with a ratchet drive shaft, such as the drive shaft of a ratchet wrench, to provide an adjustable socket which may be employed for a wide range of nut or bolthead sizes.

A main object of the invention is to provide a novel and improved adjustable socket for use with a socket wrench or similar implement, the adjustable socket being simple in construction, involving relatively few parts, and having a wide range of adjustments.

A further object of the invention is to provide an improved adjustable socket for use with a ratchet wrench or similar implement, the socket being inexpensive to manufacture, being durable in construction, being very versatile, being easy to adjust, and being very compact in size so that it can be easily stored in a tool box or similar container.

Further objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following description and claims, and from the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a top plan view of an improved adjustable Wrench socket element constructed in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a side elevational view of the socket assembly of FIG. l;

FIG. 3 is a bottom plan View of the socket assembly of FIG. l; and

FIG. 4 is a vertical cross-sectional view taken substantially on the line 4--4 of FIG. 2.

Referring to the drawings, 11 generally designates an improved adjustable socket assembly constructed in accordance with the present invention. The assembly 11 comprises a generally rectangular or square housing 12 having a top wall 13, transverse end walls 14 and 15 and inwardly directed opposing longitudinal bottom flanges 16, 16 defining a longitudinal slot 17 therebetween, the fianges 16 being provided with upwardly concave channels or trackways 18 at their top surfaces inside housing 12. Thus, as shown in FIG. 2, respective rectangular apertures 20, 20 are defined at the opposite sides of housing 12.

The apertures 20 have generally semicylindrically contoured inner walls, shown at 21, and axially mounted in the cavities thus defined are respective longitudinal shafts 22, the shafts 22 being threadedly engaged in the end wall and having their opposite end portions received in respective sockets or recesses 23 provided therefor in the end wall 14. Journaled on the shafts 22, 22 are the respective knurled worm members 24, 24 which project laterally from the opposite sides of housing 13 through ice the apertures 20, as is clearly shown in FIG. 4. Each worm element 24 is integrally formed adjacent one end thereof with a gear 25, and said gears 25 are coupled together by a pair of meshing intermediate gears 26, 26 journaled on respective shafts 27, 27 secured to end wall 15. Thus, the worm elements 24, 24 are gearingly coupled together for simultaneous operation by the intermediate idler gears 26.

Designated at 30, 30 are respective generally V-shaped jaws which are slidably mounted on the respective flanges 16, 16 and which project outwardly through the slot 17, thus depending below the housing 12, as viewed in FIGS. 2 and 4. Each jaw 30 is integrally formed with a rack element 32 shaped to slidably engage in a trackway 18, the rack element being formed with rack teeth 33 gearingly engageable by one of the worm elements 24. Thus, each rack element 32 is drivingly engaged by a worm element 24. The worm elements are formed so that the jaws 30, 30 are made to move in opposite directions responsive to the rotation of the worm elements. As above explained, the worm elements are gearingly coupled together so that both Worm elements are simultaneously operated responsive to rotational force applied to either worm element. Thus, if the worm element 24 at the left side of the assembly, as viewed in FIG. 4, is rotated in a clockwise direction, the worm element 24 at the right side thereof is rotated in a counterclockwise direction. This motion of the worm elements causes the opposing jaws 30, 30 to be moved inwardly toward each other. The reverse motion of the worm elements causes the jaws 30, 30` to separate from each other.

As shown in FIG. 3, the jaws 30', 30 have opposing V-grooves 35, 35 shaped to lockingly interengage with a standard nut or bolthead. The end walls 14 and 15 are suitably apertured at 36, 37 to slidably receive the crosssection of the rack elements 32 and the arm portions connecting them to the jaw elements 30, so as to permit relatively wide separation of .the jaw elements 30, 30, as required to receive large-size nuts or boltheads. Therefore, the adjustable socket can be employed for a wide range of sizes of boltheads or nuts.

The top wall 13 of housing 12 is substantially centrally formed with a square aperture 40 shaped to receive the conventional square driving shank of a ratchet wrench or similar implement. Thus, the adjustable socket device 11 may be employed in place of a conventional wrench socket.

It will vbe noted that the design of the adjustable socket device 11 is such that the socket jaws 30, 30 can be adjusted by unidirectional movement of the exposed surfaces of the knurled worm elements 24, 24. Thus, the jaws can be adjusted by exerting upward or downward pushing action on both of the exposed portions of the knurled worm elements simultaneously, or on either one separately. Thus, regardless of the position of the exposed worm portions relative to the handle of the ratchet wrench or other driving implement used with the assembly, the interaction of the two inner idler gears 26, 26 produces the desired unidirectional adjustment in response to the appropriately directed force supplied to either one or both of the exposed worm element portions.

Although the jaws 30, 30 are specifically illustrated herein and described above as having a V-shaped configuration, suitable for engagement with a hexagonal nut or bolthead, this design is presented only as being typical. The shape of the jaw indentations can be designed for either multiple use or to accommodate nuts or boltheads of any configuration.

While the specic embodiment of an improved adjustable socket for use with a socket wrench or similar implement has been disclosed in the foregoing description, it

will be understood that Various modiiications within the spirit of the invention may occur to those skilled in the art. Therefore, it is intended that no limitation be placed on the invention except as will be defined by the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. An adjustable wrench socket assembly comprising a housing having a pair of opposing inwardly-directed bottom anges defining a slot therebetween, respective opposing concave jaws slidably-engaged on said flanges and depending through said slot, said jaws having top rack bar elements extending parallel to said slot and to each other, respective worm members journaled in said housing and meshingly-engaging the rack bar elements, and means drivingly-coupling the worm members together for simultaneous rotation, at least one of the worm members projecting laterally from the housing, wherein said worm members are journaled on axes parellel to the rack bar elements, wherein the means drivingly-coupling the worm members together comprises a gear train, and wherein said gear train comprises respective gears rigid and coaxial with the worm members, and idler gear means journaled in the housing between the worm members meshinglycoupled with said gears.

2. The adjustable socket assembly of claim 1, and wherein said idler gear means comprises a pair of meshing idler gears journaled in the housing and respectively meshing with the gears of the worm members.

3. The adjustable socket assembly of claim 2, and wherein both of said worm members project laterally outwardly from the housing.

4. The adjustable socket assembly of claim 3, and wherein said jaws have substantially V-shaped configurations.

5. The adjustable socket assembly of claim 4, and wherein said flanges are formed on their upper surfaces with concave trackways extending parallel to said slot and said rack bar elements are shaped to slidably intert with said trackways.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 354,266 12/1886 Stetson 279-112 920,372 5/1909 McDaniel 81-163 1,123,958 1/1915 Vacarezza 81-165 X 1,432,263 10/ 1922 Schultz Sl--165 2,112,565 3/1938 Hare 81-163 X FOREIGN PATENTS 947,732 1/ 1949 France.

OTHELL M. SIMPSON, Primary Examiner 

